Hawaii Kai / East Oahu Event Calendar

Apr 21 - Star of the Sea will be hosting its 12th annual East Oahu Food Festival on April 29. Sixteen local restaurants will be featured at the event. [KHON]

Apr 20 - An unusually large amount of box jellyfish washed ashore in Kailua this month. The influx is expected to continue through Friday. [HNN]

Apr 19 - Representative Gene Ward, posting to Hawaii Free Press, questions the striking of verbiage from the record as a violation of First Amendment rights and free speech. He has asked Attorney General Doug Chin for a clarification. [Hawaii Free Press]

Apr 19 - Remaining closed since last June due to hazardous conditions, the Waimanalo gym serves as a reminder to nearby residents of neglect. Locals have expressed concern over the amount of time it is taking to repair. At this juncture, it does not appear that money has been allocated for its restoration. [Civil Beat]

Apr 19 - The Board of Water supply once again warns residents to be alert to scammers posing as BWS employees. Recently, a Kaimuki family was approached by men claiming to be water quality specialists. When confronted, the men could not produce credentials. [HNN]

Apr 17 - Slack-key musician Makana, who had his guitar stolen from his Kaimuki home 11 years ago, was reunited with it. He recently received a phone call from a guy who suspected the used guitar on Craigslist belonged to Makana and met the musician in Hawaii Kai to return it. Makana plans to play the instrument in his upcoming concert this month. [HNN]

Apr 17 - A North Shore woman is pleading with thieves to return a sentimental bracelet and quilt. The items, along with other belongings, were stolen from her car as she hiked the Makapuu trail at Ka Iwi. Police say there have been a rash of break-ins there and have stepped up surveillance. However, they caution that visitors and locals alike must take precautions to protect their valuables. [KHON]

Apr 16 - Honolulu police are asking for your help in finding a woman who’s accused of stealing from a senior by forging nearly one-hundred checks. Authorities are looking for Tovaega Maliaelo. Police have a 250-thousand dollar warrant for her arrest. Relatives of the victim recently discovered the theft while preparing taxes for her. The victim lives at Kahala Nui and Maliaelo was her caretaker. [KHON]

Apr 14 - A pilot project, supported by the Hawaii Kai Lions Club, Hawaiian Cement, Hui Nalu Canoe Club and a number of individuals, seeks to provide water-goers with safety float tubes for Hawaii's beaches. The Hawaii Kai Lions clubs started a GoFundMe to purchase more rescue tubes, which are about $85 each;the group hopes to give 100 away for free. [HNN]

April 14 - The Hawaii Kai and Waialae-Kahala post offices are among the 27 Hawaii locations offering extended service on April 18 for tax returns. Items dropped off before midnight will receive an April 18 postmark. Post office hours, however, remain the same. [KITV]

April 14 - Hawaii Public Radio spotlighted recent trend changes in golf course ownership in Hawaii, including the sale of Hawaii Kai Golf Course in 2015 to South Korean investors YHB. [HawaiiPublicRadio]

April 12 - The finalized sale of Ka Iwi preservation land has spurred several op-ed pieces on the enormity of the deal and the journey to completion. [Civil Beat 1] [Civil Beat 2] Transaction completion was officially announced on April 6. [KITV]

April 11 - Honolulu police have arrested a woman after the brutal hit-and-run at Kahala Mall that left a Japanese tourist seriously injured. [KHON] Police records indicate Chiaan Bitar was taken into custody around 10:40 p.m. at a Kaimuki address roughly a mile from where the alleged hit-and-run took place. She was arrested on two counts of fleeing a scene where there was serious injury or death.

Late Sunday evening, witnesses say, a 35-year-old woman had just finished strapping her two young children into their car seats when a white SUV slammed into the back of her Nissan, pinning her between the vehicles. [Hawaii News Now]

April 11 - Koko Head Elementary school sent out an alert to parents at nearby schools regarding a Caucasian man, apparently in his 30s, approaching a teen on Makaweli Street near the school. The man was unclothed. [DOE letter]

March 31 - McDonalds at Kahala Mall closed today in anticipation of demolition of the building and subsequent reconstruction of a larger multi-store complex. [KHON]

March 30 - Big wave surfer Kai Lenny is on a mission to promote marine environment awareness in Hawaii. He raced to across the Kaiwi Channel from Molokai to Maunalua Bay by hydrofoil in a record time of 3 hours and 26 minutes. At the end of each leg of the journey he holds a community trash clean up that removes 2 to 3 tons of trash on average. [HNN]

March 30 - Niu Valley Middle School musicians performed at Carnegie Hall. Billy V. interviews school staff and students regarding the experience. [HNN Video]

March 29 - The Old Waialae Bowl at Kahala Mall, vacant for nine years, will be demolished to make way for a new shopping complex. McDonalds Corporation will lead the development. Reconstruction is expected to be completed by September. [HNN]

March 28 - The Salvation Army has opened a donation bin at Kalama Valley Shopping Center in Hawaii Kai.

March 28 - After the suspected theft of the "Little Free Library" from a Kailua neighborhood, a Hawaii Kai family made a nighttime delivery to recreate the popular roadside book stand. [HNN]

March 26 - Work has begun on reducing rockfall hazards along Diamond Head Road. [HNN]

March 25 - Kaiser High School's computer club spent Saturday giving free coding lessons to Koko Head Elementary students and their parents. [HI DOE]

March 25 - An expended military flare prompted the closure of Haunauma Bay for 3 hours. Visitors were evacuated due to fears the object could be unexploded ordnance. [Star-Advertiser]

March 20 - Hele gas has opened at the former Aloha Petroleum Hawaii Kai site in front of the 7-11 at Hahaione Valley's entrance. Aloha Petroleum will soon begin construction on an Aloha Island Mart at the former Tesoro site next to Hawaii Kai Costco. [PBN] + observation

March 20 - Civil Beat reports on the overuse of emotional support "service animals," providing as an example a woman at Hawaii Kai's Villa Marina condo with two emotional support chickens. [Civil Beat]

March 19 - A 34-year-old motorcyclist died Sunday evening, after slamming into the guard rail along Kalanianaole Highway. Honolulu Police closed the highway in both directions between Hanauma Bay and Sandy Beach. [KITV]

The Hawaii Kai Carnival returns for this weekend and next along Kalanianaole Highway.The carnival, located across from the Maunalua Bay parking lot, will run for two consecutive Friday-Sunday weekends, March 17-19 and 24-26. Carnival hours will be 6 p.m.-11 p.m. Fridays, noon-11 p.m. Saturdays and noon-9 p.m. Sundays. [KHON]

March 15 - Firefighters rescued a man stuck in a drainage ditch near the condo complexes on Hawaii Kai Drive [HNN]

March 14 - Niu Valley Middle School Orchestra performed at Carnegie Haii in the midst of a New York blizzard. [HNN]

EastOahu96825 is a website focused on the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood. Articles of interest include nearby free and low-cost events, local fundraisers, Costco shopping, and my trials and tribulations in learning Japanese as a second language.

This site also posts the latest information on my pet project, a once a month plant swap that takes place every 2nd Tuesday at Kaiser High School from 4-7pm.